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Did I get hit by a shill bidder?

MemberThread Starter

I won this auction a couple days ago and I'm frustrated because I paid more than I wanted to.
Basically, I maxed out my bid which is sometimes a great feeling, but sometimes a little annoying when the auction remained low for days and days.

I AM glad I won it, but this seller was a bit of a hard case. Shipping was ridiculously high and she wouldn't mark the item as a gift with a low value so I'm going to get hit by customs badly. What's worse, I can't help but think the seller shill bid to get the price up. And with this new Bidder 1, Bidder 2, etc thing now, I won't even be able to check a person's identity to see if their has been any interaction between the two parties. Argh! So frustrating. How can you tell if you've been hit by a shill bidder? Are there any obvious signs?

Member

I know what you mean, the new system is ok for people who don't want to be contacted with fake second chance offers, but it makes it nearly impossible now to see who is bidding against you after it reaches a certain amount! I used to be able to see the user id and I had caught quite a few shill bidders but now it's impossible. It seems like it gets easier and easier to screw people over with all of the new "preventative measures" eBay takes.

Member

The most obvious sign of a shill bidder is low bid increments- they want to get the price up, but not drastically farther than you planned to spend. So let's say your max bid is $150 but it's currently at $130. The shill bidder will first do $133, then $136, and so on until they get just over yours to $152 or so. Seeing that you were only beat a few dollars, you'll put in a new higher bid that they will either try to up again or let you win. Believe me I hate shill bidders- last year I had one on an auction I won that was brought to my attention by a fellow pf'er who noted that the seller had won their own bag last time and had to relist I asked for a discount to offset the artificially high cost but of course she played dumb.

Member

I reported shilling bidding for auctions on some bags but eBay said there was not sufficient evidence of shill bidding. Of course it is to their benefit if the price goes higher and more money for them (meaning eBay).

What I look for are a lot of bids by buyers with zero or single digit feedback. Also I look to see if the suspected shill bidders only bid on a certain seller's auctions.

If you read the Ebay community forums, there are a lot of people who are unhappy about the Bidder 1, Bidder 2, etc. system.

Member

The most obvious sign of a shill bidder is low bid increments- they want to get the price up, but not drastically farther than you planned to spend. So let's say your max bid is $150 but it's currently at $130. The shill bidder will first do $133, then $136, and so on until they get just over yours to $152 or so. Seeing that you were only beat a few dollars, you'll put in a new higher bid that they will either try to up again or let you win. Believe me I hate shill bidders- last year I had one on an auction I won that was brought to my attention by a fellow pf'er who noted that the seller had won their own bag last time and had to relist I asked for a discount to offset the artificially high cost but of course she played dumb.

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I agree, what valley mentions is the best way to detect a shill bidder. I also agree with Rebecca that this new bidder 1,2,3 system makes it perfect for dishonest sellers to shill bid and drive up their own auctions because as honest bidders we are literally left in the dark.